FUTURES

EDITORIAL
Education,
opportunity and
GREAT FUTURES
s fond memories of
summer camp fade with
the falling leaves, Boys and
Girls Clubs across Canada
are back to after-school
and buzzing with energy and opportunity.
We love this time of year, welcoming both
new and returning Club members into
our life-changing after-school programs.
This is the 50th year that Sears
Canada has supported our Clubs in
providing a safe, fun place to discover
and achieve great futures.
Healthy physical, emotional and
intellectual development requires healthy
food to fuel learning and growth.
This issue of IMPACT highlights how
President’s Choice® Children’s Charity in
partnership with Boys and Girls Clubs of
Canada expanded the capacity of every
Club in Canada to provide our youth
with healthy snacks and meals and the
knowledge they need to make healthy
choices for life.
A good education and the ability to
learn are also fundamental requirements
in our modern knowledge-based
economy. Boys and Girls Clubs help
young people begin their great futures
with confidence by boosting academic
and learning capacity with our
educational support program, Rogers
Raising the Grade (RRTG).
We begin this school year with 43 RRTG
technology centres and hundreds of Club
staff and mentors helping youth to discover
their interests, shape career goals and plan
for their future. This issue showcases a
remarkable mentor and Club volunteer
committed to making a difference to his
community in Cornwall, Ontario.
We also feature a Rogers Raising the
Grade graduate in Ottawa who is beginning
his great future, inspired by his RRTG
mentor as he begins university to achieve
his dream of becoming a pharmacist.
A good education may appear to be
out of reach for some youth but Boys and
Girls Clubs of Canada, with generous
support from Best Buy Canada, removes
barriers to post-secondary education
with the Grade 10 Best Buy Scholarship
program. One young woman in her
second year of college tells us how this
made a difference in her life.
Boys and Girls Clubs also offer
younger children a chance to
explore and learn. Thanks to Fidelity
Investments, a new national program
introduces STEM knowledge and
concepts to children as young as 5. A
youth in Brantford explains how STEAM
Ahead! encourages his creativity.
We also highlight how three teen
Counselors in Training in Montreal learned
that teamwork makes the dream work,
thanks to the Keystone program and
Capital One Canada.
Nutrition, learning, scholarships,
friendship, leadership and mentors.
These are just some of the ways that
Boys and Girls Clubs of Canada, with
the help of our generous partners,
offer children and youth a range of
opportunities that are accessible and
affordable for all children.
IMPACT IS PUBLISHED QUARTERLY BY
BOYS AND GIRLS CLUBS OF CANADA
AND DISTRIBUTED TO MEMBERS
AND STAKEHOLDERS NATIONWIDE.
WE WELCOME YOUR COMMENTS
AND INQUIRIES.
INTERIM PRESIDENT AND CEO
MARLENE DEBOISBRIAND
EDITOR SUSAN SULLIVAN
GRAPHIC DESIGNER STEVIE SHIPMAN
CONTRIBUTORS JARED MORROW
AND MARY O’CONNELL
BOYS AND GIRLS CLUBS OF CANADA
2005 SHEPPARD AVE. EAST, SUITE 400
TORONTO, ONTARIO, M2J 5B4
905-477-7272
INFO@BGCCAN.COM
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BOARD OF DIRECTORS
OFFICERS
CHAIR ROBERT LIVINGSTON
PAST CHAIR DANIEL LAPRADE
VICE-CHAIR PHIL MCDOWELL
SECRETARY TAIWO BAH
TREASURER FELIX WU
BGCC FOUNDATION CHAIR
PETER WALLACE
DIRECTORS
NATHALIE CLARK
THOMAS CLIFT
DAVID INGRAM
LORRAINE LECLAIR
BECKY PENRICE
HOLLY TOUPIN
AMANDA WORM
/BGCCAN
2 FALL 2015 bgccan.com